


Fairy Dust

by OnceEvilRegal



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, post 3x11
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-23 04:13:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2533775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceEvilRegal/pseuds/OnceEvilRegal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina travels to New York to give Emma back her memories and return her to Storybrooke. When no one can remember what happened and everything seems quiet, the Swan-Mills family settles into domesticity. But Regina - having traveled outside the Enchanted Forest and avoided the curse - is strangely reluctant to talk about her past year. The mystery begins to gnaw at Emma, distracting her from Henry and his dangerous new friend. Eventual Swan Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just a Few Drops Will Do

**Author's Note:**

> Important story notes: This takes place after season 3a, the Neverland arc. I will not be including the wicked witch or any of that storyline. Rumple is dead and shall remain dead, as is Neal (I think he was alive when they left Storybrooke but I can't remember). I'm thinning things out a bit so I can focus more on Emma, Regina, Henry, and add some depth to a few side characters that sort of got abandoned along the way. I've also chosen not to include Snow's pregnancy because it would just distract from the story I'm trying to tell. I think I'm going to include the Frozen sisters, but I haven't decided yet. It won't be for a while.
> 
> Also, I have ZERO clue how Emma's bail bondsperson job actually works and I'm not one to do a bunch of research for a fanfic, so stick with me while I take some artistic license here.
> 
> Trigger Warnings: I can never say for sure because I post as I go, but if you are worried about violence, sexual assault, or any form of abuse, I would advise you to skip all of my writing. I like to drag my characters through some pretty intense situations. However, I never include explicit non-con (though characters might talk about it happening in their past), and I don't write incest. If there are any other specific triggers you're worried about, please let me know.
> 
> Enjoy!

There was a loud knock at the door. Emma, who was hopping on one foot while she tried to pull her jeans on, looked up and nearly tripped over the corner of her bed. She grabbed the arm of the couch and managed to twirl clumsily, falling onto the cushions with a grunt. Henry laughed, looking up from his comic book.

"Come on, finish your breakfast or we're gonna be late!" Emma flopped onto her back and shimmied her jeans up over her hips, buttoning them on the way to answer the door. "Eat!" she called over her shoulder, seeing that Henry was still ignoring his breakfast. She dashed around the corner and down the short hall, checked the peephole. She didn't recognize the woman on the other side of the door, but that wasn't uncommon in Emma's line of work. The woman looked more like a bureaucrat than a criminal, so Emma unlocked the door, slipped off the chain, and pulled it wide open.

"Miss Swan," the woman said, sounding a little breathless. She had a look on her face that Emma had seen before and it gave her a bad feeling. Under an air of cold authority was a sort of lost puppydog kind of hope. Emma was willing to bet a month's pay that whatever story this woman had, it involved an abusive man. Emma hated those cases.

"This isn't a great time," Emma said, hoping Henry was getting ready.

"I'm sorry, but it's important."

It always is, Emma thought. She gave the woman a quick once over. Just a tad taller than Emma in some pretty impressive stilettos, Emma probably had a good inch on her without them. Dark hair meticulously styled, make-up subtle but expertly applied. Black pinstriped trousers, white blouse, and a black trench coat draped over one arm, no purse. A businesswoman. Maybe even a politician. "I'm running late for an appointment. We can arrange a time to meet later." No maybes, no options. Lay down your boundaries quickly and clearly. Those were Emma's biggest rules. That, and she never mentioned Henry. It wouldn't be that difficult for someone to learn of his existence if they really wanted to, but she wasn't about to admit that he was just a few feet away getting ready for school.

"We need to meet today. What time will your appointment end?"

Apparently this woman didn't have time for BS either. "Do you know the little shop at the end of the block?"

"I'm afraid I'm not…from the area."

Emma sighed. "Leave here, turn left, end of the block there's a little independent café. I'll meet you there in an hour."

The woman nodded and Emma quickly closed the door, locking it behind her out of habit. They'd be leaving in a few minutes, but having a stranger at her door gave Emma the creeps, no matter who it was. That was the biggest downside of their building. Security was decent, enough to keep out the shadier people who might want to track down a bondsperson. Unfortunately this was a nice neighbourhood, and even native New Yorkers could get soft in an area like this. Someone like – dammit, Emma never got her name – this politician would easily slip by with a smile and a few carefully chosen words.

"Mom? Who was that?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Henry! Go get dressed, we're late!" She shooed Henry towards his room.

"You're the one with your fly down." He laughed as he disappeared behind his bedroom door.

"Crap," Emma muttered, zipping up her jeans.

***

"Did you come straight here?" Emma asked, sliding into the booth across from the brunette whose name she still didn't know. She had said an hour knowing that it would take her less than half that time to get Henry to school and get back. Deciding whether to be early, late, or right on time was a real science. Emma had certainly been called crazy for thinking it made any difference, but she was convinced it made all the difference in the world. It helped her get the upper hand right from the start. With someone like this, being early was vital. It would send the message that Emma was on the ball, that she took her job seriously no matter what her casual attire might suggest. She tried to remind herself that she was early, but it still rankled that she hadn't arrived first.

"I told you, I'm not from the area. There wasn't much else for me to do while I waited."

Dammit, Emma should have realized that. "I'm Emma Swan, but I guess you already know that." Emma waited for the woman to offer her name, but she merely took another sip of her drink. "And you are…?" she prompted.

The woman reached into the pocket of her trench coat, which she had draped across the table, and pulled out a small blue vial. She set it down on the table in front of Emma. "Drink it."

Emma scoffed. "Sorry, I may not have had a mother but I still know not to take drinks from strangers."

"Drink it, and I won't be a stranger anymore."

Emma's eyebrows crept slowly up her forehead. "Is that…some sort of weird come on?"

The woman sighed. "Miss Swan, my name is Regina Mills. You know me, you just don't remember. We really don't have time for me to explain everything so just drink that and we can be on our way."

"On our way? On our way where?"

"Storybrooke. It's back, and…" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, like the words pained her, "we need your help."

"Storybrooke…"

Regina nodded. "Maine," she added when Emma's expression didn't change.

"Maine. Right. You want me to drink a potion and then drive to Maine with you. Because…I know you."

"You don't remember. That's what this is for." She picked up the tiny vial and set it back down with a clink.

"Lady, I don't work for crazy people. Good luck." Emma slid out of the booth but Regina stepped in front of her with surprising agility.

"I'm not here to hire you; I'm here to take you home."

"I am home," Emma said, stepping around Regina. She was starting to get a bad feeling about this woman.

"Maybe you never thought of Storybrooke as your home, but Henry did."

Emma was nearly out of the shop, but at the mention of Henry's name she whirled and stomped back to Regina, stopping with her face less than an inch from Regina's. Her voice was a low hiss. "Do not. Ever. Threaten my son."

"I would never hurt Henry." The change in Regina's expression made Emma take a step back. Everything in the woman had softened, her eyes shining with tears. Her voice was just as quiet as Emma's, but lacked any of the same malice.

"Who…are you?" Emma asked, eyes narrowed, mouth slightly open.

Regina pulled out the blue vial once again. "You're someone who follows her instincts. Your 'gut feeling', as you say. You must know something isn't right here. I know it's impossible to miss someone you don't remember, but I know your parents miss you."

"I don't have any parents," Emma said, but her arguments were losing their force.

"You do, you just don't remember them. And Henry," she gave a shaky smile, "he has a home in Storybrooke. He has a family."

"Henry's never been out of New York. We've never been to Maine." Emma shook her head.

"You have, you just. Don't. Remember. You've only been in New York for a year. Before that you lived in Storybrooke. The life you remember before this past year…it's not real."

Emma scoffed. "Well now I know you're crazy."

"When Henry was 7 he fell out of a tree and broke his arm."

"How did you-"

"When he was 5 he snuck out of bed and watched a scary movie and he made you check under his bed for zombies every night for years."

"Now you listen here-"

"Ask me anything. Anything about him, anything about your life together. If I wasn't telling the truth about him living in Maine, about knowing him, how would I know all of this?"

Emma stared at Regina for a long time, unable to make heads or tails of what was going on in her head. Then something solidified and there was a tightening sensation in her chest. She took a deep breath. "There's a tree, in central park, that Henry loves to climb or just sit under. He says it's always been his favourite spot, for as long as he can remember, but I only remember him going there for the first time a year ago. It's a big apple tree. Does that…mean anything to you?"

She nodded. "He must have made it part of his memories when he saw it. It…it must remind him of home. He used to have one in his backyard."

Emma nodded slowly. Something about that tree, the way Henry always insisted that he had climbed that tree as a child even though Emma didn't remember ever taking him there. In fact she didn't remember ever spending much time in central park until Henry dragged her there one day after school to climb his 'favourite tree'. Could the insane things this woman was saying really be true? Did that tree really remind Henry of a home that neither of them could remember?

"If what you say is true," Emma said, "then if I drink that, I'd be giving up our life here. And it's a pretty good life."

"But it's not real."

"But this past year, that was real, wasn't it? That's what you said. Well I have a man I love and I can't just leave him behind." Regina said nothing, simply stood with her hand outstretched, offering Emma the potion.

After a very long silence between them, Emma reached out and took the vial from Regina's hands, raised it to her lips, and drained the few drops into her mouth. She gasped, stumbled back a step. Everyone turned to look at her, but Regina muttered some words of assurance as Emma recovered from the barrage of memories that has just struck her like a freight train.

"Regina," she said, breathless after the onslaught of memories.

"Shall we get going, then?"


	2. Nothing Like a Good Road Trip

"What am I going to tell Henry?" Emma paused in front of her apartment building, keys in hand.

"The truth," Regina said, narrowing her eyes. After all this Emma damn well better be ready to tell Henry everything. Regina was still furious that she hadn't managed to collect enough ingredients for a second memory potion.

"If you're here to get me, something must have gone wrong. After what happened with Pan, do you really think getting him mixed up in whatever's going on is really a good idea?"

Regina's eyes narrowed. Regina knew Emma wouldn't want to give Henry his memories back. She wouldn't want to let go of the relationship they now had. Still, Regina had to admit that Emma was right to want to protect Henry. It really was best for him to stay out of danger, and the only way to keep Henry out of danger was to keep him in the dark. So Regina gave a curt nod. "What will we tell him…about me, then?"

"We'll tell him that you need my help tracking someone down. That it might take a while so we're all going to go to Maine together. We'll just have to figure out the rest as we go."

Regina followed Emma into the building and up to her apartment. Henry wouldn't be home from school for hours and they didn't want to make him suspicious by pulling him out early. He was bound to be pretty suspicious already. "I…need to talk to Walsh before we go. He deserves some sort of explanation. Will you be alright here while I'm gone?"

Regina nodded. Emma stared at her for one overly long moment, then gave a quick nod and started gathering up her things. She headed out the door without another glance at Regina, and the apartment was silent.

Looking out the window, Regina was struck once again by just how foreign this world really was to her. She had spent 30 years in it, and yet Storybrooke really had been a world of its own, completely isolated from the crushing weight of monstrous cities like New York. Regina hated the noise and the stench and the never-ending concrete. She frowned at the window for a while, wishing she could leave right this second, until she realized that she was now alone in the apartment.

She spent the rest of the morning snooping around the apartment, not entirely sure what she was looking for except some reminder of her son. His things were everywhere – she recognized his gaming systems, finally updated to the most modern versions, and his comic books, some of them brand new. She frowned when she saw the state of his bedroom, but at least his dirty clothes were all in the hamper where they belonged. His desk, she noticed, was also quite clean except for a few remnants of homework pages strewn across its surface. Everything else about his room just looked strange. All of his prized possessions were missing. Regina hoped they were back in Storybrooke, that they hadn't simply been lost in the curse. She thought of his swan light, and as much as that thing had once infuriated her, it was really more a momento of his life with Regina than a reminder of his birth mother. She didn't want to return to her mansion and discover it was missing.

By the time Emma returned, Regina had grown tired of exploring the apartment and was at the stove preparing a wholesome meal for when Henry returned. "Well this is…nice," Emma said, hanging up her coat.

"I do hope you've been feeding him well," Regina said, keeping her back to the room.

"Regina, you know I took good care of him. You don't have to pretend otherwise."

"I saw how he used to eat when he stayed with you and the Charmings. When I passed on my memories I had hoped my cooking skills would go along with them."

"They did," Emma muttered.

Regina twisted to look at her. She had her arms folded on the counter, eyes downcast. Good, Regina thought, then felt guilt creep into her chest. She turned back to the stove. "We'll eat quickly and then head out. I don't want to reach Storybrooke too late."

Emma stayed silent. A few minutes later she heard her leave again and Regina knew she'd be home with Henry in less than 20 minutes. As she watched the hands slide around the clock, her heart started to beat faster until she thought she would faint. When the door finally opened again she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Henry rounded the corner into the kitchen and paused when he saw Regina. She felt light-headed, tongue-tied, and she silently pleaded with Emma to say something, anything, to give her a moment to breathe. He looked so grown up. Had it really only been a year?

"My mom said she's going to be helping you find someone?" Henry asked, approaching the kitchen island cautiously. It was heartbreaking to see the distance in his eyes, the lack of recognition. The mistrust, however slight.

"Yes," was all Regina could manage.

"Regina cooked us up some dinner before we hit the road," Emma said, putting her hands on Henry's shoulders and smiling at Regina.

Regina had a sudden urge to stab Emma with the steak knife in her hand. "It's ready if you want to grab yourself a plate," she said, forcing a smile onto her lips.

"Thanks, I'm starving."

Regina excused herself and headed for Emma's bathroom. She didn't even get the door closed before tears sprang to her eyes, hot and stinging. She tried desperately to stop them, but it was no use. She let out a few choked sobs and forced the rest down, telling herself this wasn't the time. What was she crying for, anyway? She had her son back. She wouldn't have to live the rest of her life without him after all. She kept up a silent mantra, pushing all other thoughts aside. It wouldn't work for long, she knew, but it would get her through today.

When Regina re-entered the kitchen Emma gave her a knowing look, but Henry thankfully was oblivious. "This is delicious," he said through a mouthful of chicken.

"Manners, kid," Emma said.

Henry swallowed. "Those were manners," he protested.

"It's alright. I'm glad you like it."

"Aren't you going to have any?" Henry asked, mouth full again. Emma shot him a look and he rolled his eyes, swallowed, and asked the question again.

"I don't have much of an appetite at the moment." It was certainly the truth.

Henry practically inhaled the rest of the food on his plate, then helped himself to seconds and took a bit more time to actually chew. Emma ate her own portion slowly and quietly. Regina wondered what was going through her head, and the thought surprised her. Why should she care what Emma was thinking? It was Henry's thoughts she really wanted to know about. What did he think of her? Did he really not recognize her, even a little? Don't go down that road, she scolded herself. Of course he didn't remember; that was the point.

"Alright, go get your stuff packed while I clean up." Henry nodded and ran to his room, no doubt excited to go on an adventure to a 'new' town.

"Alright, I want to know what's going on. How can Storybrooke be back?" Emma started gathering up the dishes, keeping her voice low and her ears trained for the sound of Henry returning.

"I don't know. I got a message from Snow saying that they found a way to cast the curse again, that they were going back to Storybrooke. She said they wouldn't remember anything, so they needed me to find a way back and bring you home."

"Why weren't you cursed along with everyone else?"

"I wasn't in the Enchanted Forest at the time. That's why Snow sent the note to me."

"Doesn't casting the curse mean sacrificing the thing you love most? Who in their right mind would cast that again? What did they sacrifice?"

"More likely who did they sacrifice. I don't know. You'll have to break the curse to find out."

"But how-"

"I'm all packed up!" Henry called, standing in the doorway with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

Their conversation would have to wait until they got to Storybrooke. "You sure you got everything? Even your toothbrush?"

"Got it."

"Spare underwear?" Regina said before she could stop herself.

"Oh, right." Henry smiled sheepishly. "Be right back."

Once they were satisfied Henry had everything, Emma went into her room to pack up a few of her own things. Regina stood across from Henry, struggling for something to say to him that wouldn't scare him away. He beat her to it.

"So who exactly is it you're looking for? Is it a criminal?"

"I don't really think your mother would appreciate me telling you about it," Regina said. The truth was she didn't understand Emma's job well enough to lie, and she really wasn't one for making up stories anyway.

Henry looked disappointed, but he bounced back quickly. "Mom said you're the mayor of the town we're going to. That's pretty cool."

Regina laughed. "It's mostly just paperwork, pretty boring stuff, but I like it."

"What would you do if you weren't mayor?"

"That's a good question. I don't know. I've been mayor for so long now I'm not sure what else there really is for me." It really was an interesting question.

"They must really like you if they keep electing you after all these years."

Regina struggled to find the right facial expression. She had never actually been elected, and the thought was unsettling. It reminded her of what she'd done, of the curse and all the misery it had brought to so many lives…A shiver ran up her spine. Henry was staring at her, confused, waiting for a response, but Emma came back into the room and Regina let out a sigh of relief. "Shall we get going then?" she said.

It was a long drive back to Storybrooke. Henry put in his headphones as soon as they got in the car and seemed quite content to stare out the window, drumming his hands on his knees. Emma tried to ask Regina more about the situation in Storybrooke, but Regina quickly shushed her. She knew all too well that Henry wasn't always as into his music as he seemed to be. Not to mention those few seconds of silence between songs. As much as Regina wanted to tell Henry everything, as much as is killed her to see him look at her as if she were a perfect stranger, Emma was right. They couldn't tell him anything, not until they knew more themselves. Besides, without another memory potion he wouldn't remember anything, even if he did believe them. He still wouldn't look at Regina the way he used to. No, it was better this way. For now.

Regina did give Emma something when they stopped for a bathroom break and some snacks; she handed Emma a letter. It was the one Snow had sent her back in their realm. She watched as Emma read it over twice. Regina practically knew it by heart. It read:

Dear Regina,

The Enchanted Forest is no longer face. We have to go back. David and I believe we found a way to cast the dark curse without having to sacrifice anything. We may fail, but it's a risk we must take. Even if this works, as I'm sure you know, we will still be left with no memory of the past year, maybe even with no memories at all, and no way to leave Storybrooke. So it's up to you to find Emma and bring her back, so she can break this curse and we can be free. And you can be with Henry again. I know you can do it.

Love,

Snow

"Is that possible? Casting the curse without having to sacrifice anything?" Emma asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. Henry was inside looking at chocolate bars, and Regina doubted anyone around them would care what they were talking about, but she played along without comment.

"I suppose anything is possible."

"All of those people, losing their homes again…"

Regina shrugged. "I'm sure more than a few of them missed the comforts of this world. I mean, I at least have magic at my disposal and I still couldn't replicate my Jacuzzi."

Regina kept her face carefully neutral, as she always did, but Emma chuckled. "You have no idea what this threat is?"

"None."

Henry came rushing back to the car, chocolate bar in hand – Regina frowned; he was supposed to buy a sandwich – and they hit the road again.

Regina was struggling to keep her eyes open by the time they reached the sign welcoming them to Storybrooke. She could hardly believe her eyes as they drove into the town she hadn't seen in a year, completely unchanged. Emma looked just as stunned. Henry was sound asleep in the back, unaffected by the sight.

Emma pulled over outside of Regina's mansion. It was just as she'd left it. She could have wept with joy, but Emma was right next to her and she wasn't about to lose her composure in front of the Saviour. "I…thought maybe we could get Henry settled in here. Then head over to Mary Margaret's."

"You want to leave him alone? When we have no idea what's going on or what might be out that? Not a chance."

"And what, leaving him in the car is better? We can't take him into the apartment. We can-" she glanced at the backseat. Henry hadn't stirred, but she still made a circle with her hand and mouthed 'protection spell'.

"We'll take him to the apartment and one of the Charmings can watch him. It's not like we need both of them."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Compromise. We go to Mary Margaret's, get her and David and whoever else we need to talk to, and bring them back here. Henry can get settled into his room and we can talk downstairs."

Regina let out a tiny groan at the thought of those two idiots in her house, but it really was the most sensible course of action. "Fine. But you go get them and bring them back here yourself. I'll take care of Henry."

Emma's brow furrowed as she looked at Henry through the rearview mirror. "You don't trust me?" Regina asked, knowing the answer perfectly well. "I'm his mo-" but she caught herself as she saw the look of panic in Emma's eyes. "I can take care of him," she said instead.

Emma hesitated a moment longer, making Regina curl her hands into fists so tight she knew she'd have nail marks in her palms. Then Emma nodded, and reached back to wake Henry and explain the situation to him. Henry clearly didn't like the idea of being left with a stranger, though his chose his words carefully in front of Regina. It made her heart ache so much that she had to look away.

"Alright, I'll be back soon, but you better be asleep by then. I'll see you in the morning," Emma said through the passenger side window as Henry got out. Regina had already started slowly up the walkway, not wanting to hover. Henry said a few words that she couldn't make out, and then the car drove away and it was just the sound of Henry's sneakers mixed with the click of her heels. She took a long, deep breath.


	3. Idiots in the House

Emma took a deep breath as she held her hand up to knock on the door, but before she could even let it out the door was flung open. On the other side stood David, looking stunned.

"Um, David? Hi. I-"

"Emma?" David pulled Emma into a fierce hug.

"I wasn't sure you'd remember me," Emma said, her voice muffled against David's shoulder.

"Of course we remember you. But," he released Emma, taking a step back to look at her. "I don't understand. What happened?"

"We were sort of hoping you could tell us."

"Emma?" Emma turned to see Mary Margaret – Snow – standing at the top of the stairs, looking just as stunned as David had. She ran down the stairs so fast she actually fell into Emma's arms. They wrapped each other up in a tight embrace, Emma because she hadn't seen Snow in over a year, Snow because she thought she had lost Emma forever.

"You said 'we'," David said when Snow had released Emma.

"Regina came to get me. She had this with her." Emma pulled out the note Regina had given her, the one Snow had sent. David read it over quickly and then passed it to Snow.

"I don't remember writing this," Snow said, handing the note back to Emma.

"What do you remember?"

"Nothing," David said. "One minute we were saying goodbye to you, the next we were back here."

"We figured something must have gone wrong. It didn't take us long to realize you, Henry, and Regina were all gone. Everyone's been panicking. We can't leave and we had no idea why or how to fix it or how to find you. We didn't even know if you were still in this world. And Regina disappearing didn't make any sense. I guess it does now."

"You were gone over a year. How long have you been back here?"

"A few weeks. It must have taken a while for Regina to find a way here," David said.

"What was she doing outside the Enchanted Forest?"

"She didn't say. We didn't have much time to discuss it. Which reminds me, we put Henry to bed at Regina's. We should head over there so we start putting things together."

***

"Wow," Henry said as he stepped through the door.

Regina almost wanted to say the same thing, though for very different reasons. It was like she had never left. She could even see the wine glass she'd left on the kitchen counter sometime before their final confrontation with Pan. "It's a little much for one person," Regina admitted. The thought had never crossed her mind before, but seeing it now, after all that time, it just felt so cavernous and empty.

"Theeeeeeeeen why do you live here?" Henry asked.

"It's…complicated," was all Regina could manage after a lengthy pause. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."

"I'm kinda hungry. You got anything to eat?"

You wouldn't be so hungry if you'd bought a sandwich instead of that chocolate bar. "How about I make you some hot cocoa? The real stuff, on the stove. You shouldn't eat before bed; it's not good for you."

"Deal," he said, and followed Regina into the kitchen. As she headed for the fridge it suddenly dawned on her that she had no idea what was even in the fridge, if anything. Before she had time to ponder what sort of state her food might be in after a year of non-existence, she opened the fridge to find it fully stocked and smelling a lot better than you'd expect after a year of not being opened. Even the produce looked fresh. She pulled out a jug of milk and checked the expiry date, which still said 2013, but it turned out to be just fine. She made a mental note not to let Henry look to closely at anything that might have a questionable expiry date.

"Hey, you have an apple tree that looks just like the one in Central Park!"

Regina looked up from the stove. Henry was looking out at the backyard, a huge grin on his face. She smiled. "I've had it since I was a child. It grows the most delicious apples you've ever tasted. It's not the right time of year for them, though."

"So is that why you live here even though you don't like it?" Henry asked, his tone cautious. "Because you grew up here?"

"Something like that," Regina said, turning back to the stove. There was no point inventing some story for him. He would know the truth soon enough and it wouldn't matter. "The cocoa's ready."

She poured the contents of the pot into two mugs, squirted a little whipped cream on each of them, and pulled down her little shaker of cinnamon from the cupboard. She set the drinks down on the kitchen island and took a seat opposite Henry. "How'd you know I like cinnamon?" he asked.

Regina froze. "Well, I-I…I didn't. I always put it in my hot cocoa. You like it too?"

Henry nodded, adding a generous amount on top of his whipped cream. The he handed her the shaker. She tried not to grimace as she sprinkled as little as possible into her own drink. The taste of cinnamon made her feel almost as nauseated as the sight of the Charmings. She was thankful Henry finished his quickly and yawned loudly.

"Time for bed," she said, putting down her mostly full mug with an inward sigh of relief.

"That was delicious. Thanks. Mom always makes the instant stuff with water." Henry chuckled.

They headed upstairs, Regina leading the way. It was an odd feeling, showing Henry to his own room. It was an even odder feeling watching him walk into it, knowing he didn't recognize it at all. "I…thought you said you lived alone here?" Henry said, taking in the room that clearly belonged to an adolescent boy.

Regina swallowed the lump in her throat. "This is my son's room." All she could think was the word 'strange' over and over. It was the only descriptor that fit. Well, awkward might work well, too. "He lives with his…father."

"Oh. Do you miss him?" Henry's voice was soft, but never hesitant. Henry never shied away from asking questions, even if they might be painful ones.

Regina nodded, no longer able to form words for fear of how her voice might sound. She gave a strained smile and left the room, closing the door behind her. She went straight to her own bedroom and spent the rest of the night crying, though out of which emotion she had no idea.

***

It was a tense moment as Emma and the Charmings followed Regina into her sitting room. She made a quick motion with her hand and the air shimmered for a moment. "So Henry can't eavesdrop," Regina explained.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "He's not asleep?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "You of all people should know he can't be trusted to stay where he's supposed to." More quietly, she said, "I made him some hot cocoa. That always helps him sleep."

Snow sat down on the sofa and David sat on the arm next to her. Emma sat down in the chair across from them, perched on the edge, feeling so wound up that she might spring up at any moment. She wasn't even sure what it was that was setting her so on edge. Regina stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She had changed into her pyjamas. Emma was so on edge she hadn't even noticed, but ones she did it was hard to ignore. It was disorienting to see Regina dressed so casually. She even had bare feet.

"Well," David said, looking at Regina, "you're the one with the most information. You remember the past year, I assume?"

Regina nodded. Emma waited, but Regina didn't offer anything more. "So what happened?" She finally blurted, louder than she'd intended. Seeing the look on everyone's faces, she knit her hands together and hung her head.

"I have no idea what happened in the Enchanted Forest or why they left." Regina directed her words toward Emma. Probably trying to pretend Snow and David weren't sitting in her living room.

"You didn't go back? You didn't investigate after you got Snow's letter?" David said.

Emma looked up at Regina out of the corner of her eye. She could see that familiar bristling, Regina pulling up her defenses. Emma spoke before the snark could start. "We're not going to get anywhere if you're all going to be at each others' throats. It's too late and we're too tired for this crap so just cut it out."

There was a brief silence, then Regina sighed and sat down on the opposite end on the couch from the Charmings. She flicked her wrist and a fire ignited in the fireplace, bathing them in orange light and chasing away the slight chill in the air. "I didn't have to go back. News reached me almost as fast as your letter. The Enchanted Forest had vanished."

"Vanished?" Snow said, shaking her head.

"The dark curse ripped everything away. From what I heard there was nothing left but a barren wasteland."

"But that's not what happened the first time," David said.

"Cora's spell," Snow said, resting her hand on David's thigh.

Regina nodded, though she was staring into the fire like no one else was in the room. "Cora managed to protect a fairly large area from the first curse. Without her magic, the entire Forest was swept away in the curse."

"That explains why there are so many more people here," David said.

"Where are they living? The curse didn't create any extra housing." Regina's mayoral instincts actually overpowered her dislike of the Charmings. Emma bowed her head to hide her smile.

"It did this time. Storybrooke is bigger now." Snow gave a faint smile.

"That's what made us think something must have happened that we couldn't remember, but we didn't expect another curse."

"So why weren't you in the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked.

"I don't see how that has anything to do with our current situation. I didn't even know they were in trouble until the curse had already been cast."

"You expect us to believe you heard about the curse, but you never heard anything about whatever was threatening them in the first place?"

Regina leaned forward, forearms resting on her knees, a mirror of Emma's posture. "An entire realm vanished. That's pretty big news, Miss Swan. Whatever else was happening wasn't any of my concern, or anyone else's in-" she stopped, closed her mouth, and slowly leaned back into the couch cushions, explanation given.

"So then how the hell do we figure out what's going on?" Emma said, more to herself.

"We're working on a manifesto, taking count of everyone in town, but if someone really wanted to hide it wouldn't be that hard in all the chaos. And if it's something…" David trailed off.

"There may not even be any threat anymore. Maybe we cast the curse because we thought it would save us, and maybe it did."

"Who did cast the curse?" Regina said, eyes narrowed. Her gaze slid slowly towards Snow. When they locked eyes Snow quirked an eyebrow and Regina blinked rapidly a few times. It must have dawned on her that even that was a mystery. "Whoever cast the curse should remember. That would certainly make it easier to hide."

Emma shook her head. "The letter was from Snow, saying they had to risk casting the curse. So it was either one of you two," Emma gestured towards her parents, "or someone you trust. Anyone you trust would have come forward and filled everyone in on what was happening." She looked at Regina. "What makes you so sure the caster would remember?"

Regina seemed to mull it over. "I…suppose it's possible whatever they did to avoid making the sacrifice…could have erased the caster's memory, too."

"You're the most knowledgeable about the curse. Is there any way to restore those memories?"

"Break the curse," Snow said.

Emma glanced at Regina. She had her head down, her dark hair a curtain hiding her expression. It didn't take any great genius to know that Regina didn't feel good about that idea. If she was being honest with herself, Emma didn't much like it either. "Henry's asleep and I'm not going to wake him. It's been 3 weeks, it can wait one more night."

Without a word, Regina rose and left the room, the silencing spell vanishing behind her with another faint shimmer. Emma watched her climb the stairs and vanish from sight, and a moment later an upstairs door opened and closed.

"I guess we'll come back in the morning," Snow said.

"I'll drive you guys home, but I don't want to leave Henry alone."

"I'm sure he'll be fine with Regina," Snow said.

It dawned on Emma that Snow and David didn't know what was going on with Henry. "When Regina came to get me she only had enough memory potion for one person."

"Ahhhh," Snow said, looking towards the stairs. "Well that certainly explains a few things."

Emma nodded. "We decided it's probably not a good idea to let him in on what's going on anyway. It's safer this way."

Snow gave a slight nod but didn't comment.

"Don't worry about driving us. We'll walk. Just get some rest; you look like you need it," David said with a smile.

Emma rose from the chair, slowly arching her back as she stretched her arms over her head. "Gee, thanks," she said.


	4. Why You Ungrateful Little-

Emma woke the next morning feeling stiff and achy. She found it strange that after all those years of sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor, strangers' couches, and even her car, her body had become accustomed to a nice comfy bed and it refused to go back. She was still trying to massage the kinks out of her neck when she entered the kitchen.

Regina was already up and dressed, looking as professional as ever in her usual pantsuit, though she'd left her jacket on the back of a chair and her navy blouse was sleeveless. Her arms were more muscular than Emma would have expected for someone who spent most of her day sitting at a desk. Her feet, like last night, were bare. It was such a small detail but it snagged in Emma's brain. It was like a symbol of all the little things Emma didn't know about Regina. All the little chinks in her armour that Emma had never noticed.

"Is Henry up yet?" Emma asked, still squeezing her shoulders. She tilted her head from side to side to try to release some tension, but no luck.

"He's awake. He still walks like an elephant even when he's trying to be sneaky." She managed a weak smile that quickly fell. "I think he's waiting for you to get up."

"Should I…?"

"Break the curse?" Regina shrugged. "There's no reason to wait, is there?"  
The question hung in the air a lot longer than it really should have. It settled between them like a living thing. There really was no reason, at least not one that Emma could think of.

"I guess I'll…go get him, then." Emma headed up the stairs. She knew which door was Henry's from her past visits, but she'd never actually seen inside. She knocked on his door and he opened it slowly, peeking out. When he saw Emma he threw open the door and hugged her.

"Well this is a nice 'good morning'," she said with a laugh, wrapping her arms around him. "Everything okay?"

"It was so strange sleeping in there," he said. He leaned back to look up at Emma. Pretty soon he'd be looking down at her, she thought. "Have you ever met Regina's son? She was acting kind of strange last night. I…think maybe I shouldn't have asked about him."

Seizing a brief moment of conviction, Emma leaned forward, pulled Henry close, and kissed his forehead. She released him and smiled, but he just looked at her expectantly. "Is everything ok with you, mom?"

Instead of disappointment, Emma felt a swell of relief, followed quickly by guilt and eventually settling into something she couldn't quite identify. "Yeah, kid, everything's fine. Regina just misses her son, that's all."

Henry leaned in close, lowering his voice. "He's not dead, is he?"

Emma shook her head, a little taken aback by the question. "No, no of course not. What makes you think that?"

Henry shrugged. "She just seemed so sad when I asked about him. She looked like she was going to cry, actually. She said he was living with his dad. I guess they don't see each other much."

"I think maybe it's none of our business," Emma said, as gently as she could. "Now, what do you say we go get some breakfast? I hear Regina's a pretty great cook."

"Hey, you're a good cook, too!"

Having her real memories back, Emma realized that her cooking was in fact all Regina's doing; she'd passed on more than just her own memories of a life with Henry.

Henry slid into the kitchen just ahead of Emma, but that didn't stop her from having a clear view of Regina's face upon seeing Henry. Hope, joy, quickly crushed. She hung her head for a moment and when she looked up again her expression was neutral. Henry hadn't noticed a thing. 'She looked like she was going to cry.' Emma felt gutted.

"Good morning. Can I fix you both some breakfast?"

Regina's smile must have convinced Henry because he grinned and said, "Got any bacon?"

"And eggs and toast and I think I even have some oranges in the fridge." Henry actually licked his lips and Regina got to work getting everything on the stove. Emma watched, amazed, as Regina glided around the kitchen, squeezing three glasses of orange juice in between tending to the frying pans. The toast popped just as she slid the last of the bacon onto Henry's plate, right next to his flawless fried eggs over easy. She served up two more plates just as expertly and took a seat across from Emma. Henry had already started eating at the island, so they didn't bother moving to the dining room.

"This is delicious," Henry said around a mouthful of egg and toast. He swallowed forcefully and looked at Regina. "Is there any more orange juice?"

"Henry, she didn't just pour that out of a jug, you know," Emma said.

But Regina just slid her untouched glass of juice towards him. "You need it more than I do."

Henry flushed slightly. He hesitated, no doubt feeling guilty after Emma's comment. Regina poked the glass, inching it a little closer to Henry, then took a sip of water. Emma hadn't even noticed she'd brought a glass of water for herself. She looked down at her plate, feeling her appetite waning. Fresh squeezed orange juice was one of Henry's favourite things of all time. Of course Regina knew that. Of course she'd planned to give him two glasses of it. Of course she'd found a perfectly casual way to do that before Emma had even worked the kinks out of her neck. Henry took the glass with a smile and a 'thanks'. Emma had to force herself to finish the rest of her breakfast.

***

"So I take it true love's kiss didn't work this time?" Regina's tone was casual enough, but Emma could hear the underlying question.

"No. I kissed him on the forehead just like last time, but nothing happened." The kink was back. Emma rubbed her neck, tilting her head slightly.

Regina gave an exasperated sigh. "All that power and what do you do with it?" She muttered. She waved her hand and heat spread out from the back of Emma's neck and down her shoulders. She gasped, but the heat vanished as quick as it had come and the pain disappeared with it.

"I-…thanks."

"It should have worked. If you can't break the curse then…"

The implications were tough to image, and even tougher to put into words. Emma nodded. "I'm still the saviour. There has to be something I can do, some way to fix all this."

"I'm surprised you can say that word with a straight face."

"You know what? So am I."

They stood there for a while, staring at each other, and then off into the distance. "He needs to believe," Regina said at last, breaking the silence.

"Believe? Believe in what?"

"Magic, Emma. His book. He needs to believe in those stories before you can break the curse. It's not enough that you believe in magic and that you love him, he has to believe in magic, too."

Emma threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. "How are we supposed to get him to believe if he doesn't remember anything?"

"He believed in them before without any proof," Regina said.

"Yeah, but that's different. He needed to believe in those stories, he was mis-" Emma closed her mouth so fast her teeth clicked, but it was too late.

Regina's eyes turned icy. "Miserable. That's what you were going to say."

"Regina, I-"

"Forget it. I get the point." She put up her hands as if to ward off Emma's words. She closed her eyes. She can't even stand the sight of me. "His belief is the only thing that's different this time. We need to find that book."

***

"Is it really necessary to meet with them all at once?" Regina asked. Not for the first time.

Emma rolled her eyes. "It's easier and faster this way. Just think about it, you can direct your sarcastic comments at all of the people you hate simultaneously. Think of all the time and energy you'll save."

They were on their way to Granny's Diner. Snow had called just after breakfast to say that she and David were gathering up their most trusted allies, anyone they might have trusted to cast the curse. They would meet at Granny's diner and hopefully figure out who had cast the curse and, if they were lucky, figure out how to break it. Regina thought the whole thing was a waste of time and made that perfectly – and repeatedly – clear. She thought they should be looking for Henry's book, that restoring his belief would break the curse and everyone would just remember who cast the curse and why. Emma couldn't really fault her logic, but Snow had already gathered everyone and they had to talk to her to figure out where the book was anyway.

It was still a pretty feeble reason and Emma knew it.

Entering the diner was an uncomfortable moment. Everyone was clearly thrilled to see Emma, but their feelings towards Regina were obviously still mixed. Some greeted her warmly, some tried but failed to keep the resentment or fear out of their eyes, some avoided her, and Granny simply glared at her. Regina took it in stride, but it was a lot easier for her to stare down Granny than it was for her to accept Snow's hug. Still, she did accept it, and coming from Regina that was pretty major. Baby steps, Emma thought, smiling.

"Well, this is everyone," Snow said, looking around at the group. Emma stood next to her, taking stock of everyone: Granny and Red, Aurora and Mulan, the Blue Fairy, all of the dwarves, Archie, Belle, Geppetto, and Tinker Bell. Emma had a hard time believing Snow and David trusted all of these people enough to cast the dark curse, but it was hard to be sure how relationships may have changed over the past year. It was even possible that they had met someone new during that year and the caster wasn't even in the room.

"So how do we figure out who cast it?" Red asked. Straight to the point.

Everyone turned to look at Regina. Regina's eyebrows shot up. "And here I was thinking you might want to solve your own problems for a change."

"Do you know how to figure it out or not?" Grumpy asked.

Regina took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "Maybe. But I have no way of knowing how the lack of memories might-"

"Yeah yeah, cut to the chase, sister," Grumpy said.

Tinker Bell gave his arm a quick smack. "She's here and she's trying to help. Why don't you shut up and let her speak?"

"Go on," Red said, nodding to Regina.

Regina swallowed. Her careful façade was slipping and Emma felt a pang of sadness. What had to happen to a person to make them more comfortable with open loathing than support and encouragement?

"The curse gives the caster a mental connection to everyone they've cursed. Whoever cast it this time should be able to activate that mental link with enough concentration, even if they don't remember anything."

"Do you mean to tell us you were controlling our minds for 28 years?" Grumpy wasn't the only one who looked angry at this revelation.

"Its effects were limited," Regina said, casting her eyes around the room. "I could alter your false memories and prevent you from noticing certain things around you, but only if it involved me. It was more of a safety measure to protect the caster from falling under suspicion. It- It's why no one ever noticed anything odd about Henry."

"So…" Red said after a moment of stunned silence. "What do we do to activate this link?"

"I don't know. I could sense it as soon as I got here because I knew about the curse. Without your memories I'm not sure it would work at all."

"Shouldn't the person who cast the curse still have their memories? Did you have them last time?" Tinker Bell asked.

"What Regina wanted from the curse is different from what we must have wanted. The curse will probably work differently now," Snow explained, parroting Regina's explanation from the previous night.

"This mind control sounds like something Regina would want, not us," Grumpy said.

Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head. She turned towards Grumpy, one hand on the diner counter, the other gesturing wildly. "I already told you, dwarf, it was a safety precaution. It was built in to the curse. And for someone who's so angry that I could control your mind, you were awfully eager for me to tell you what to do." She turned on her heel and stormed out of the diner.

"Stay here," Emma said to Snow, who had stepped forward like she was going to go after Regina. Instead Emma ran out of the diner.

"Regina, wait!"

Regina spun just under the arch at the end of the walkway. She stared at Emma. When she didn't speak, Regina raised her eyebrows and bowed her head slightly.

"I…expected you to make some snarky comment. Or keep walking. Or just-" Emma waved her arms in front of her, mimicking Regina's magical vanishing.

"What do you want, Emma?" She sounded so tired. Most of the time she seemed like her old self, but all too often in the past couple days Regina looked like she had lost all of her fight.

"Come back inside. Regina, his name is Grumpy, for crying out loud. Don't let him get to you."

"It's not just him, or haven't you noticed?"

"Haven't you noticed? I'm not the only one on your side anymore."

Regina blinked, mouth falling open slightly. Emma took a few steps closer, confident that Regina wouldn't run away now. "Tinker Bell, Red, Snow, they all believe in you. And every single person in there looked to you at the mention of the curse. Not because they wanted to blame you for it, but because they wanted your help. You've come a long way. Don't walk away because things aren't perfect. You…" Emma sighed. Tilted her head. "You've got a lot to make up for."

Regina bowed her head, shaking it so that her hair fell over her face. She stood like that for a moment. She ran her hands through her hair as she lifted her head, pushing it out of the way. "I really don't know how to establish the link if the caster can't sense it already. I wasn't lying."

"I know that. You can still help. You can describe what it felt like. Maybe if they just concentrate enough on what it's supposed to feel like, someone will feel it for real."

Regina opened her mouth to argue. Instead she let the breath out with a sigh. "Fine. I'll try. But this could take a while and there's no need for you to be here."

"I'll head back to Henry," Emma said with a quick nod. They had left Henry at Regina's mansion surrounded by a protection spell they'd cast together. It hadn't been easy leaving him, not knowing how safe he really was. Now Emma headed to her car, back to Henry, and Regina headed back inside.


	5. Don't Think Villains are Supposed to Have Side-Kicks...

"We're back," Snow said, barely loud enough for Regina to hear. Her sorrow was like a physical entity that everyone could see.

Regina looked down at herself. She was dressed exactly as she had been the moment the curse had enveloped them. She looked over at Snow and Charming and realized they were dressed in their pre-curse clothes, too. David even had a bloody rip in his white shirt where he'd been struck by one of Regina's black knights. His shoulder, to Regina's great relief, was still perfectly healed.

Turning towards the crowd of former Storybrooke residents, Regina saw that nearly all eyes were on her. The Evil Queen, restored to her former glory. Her stomach churned.

"What now?" Red said, stepping forward to clasp Snow's hands.

"We take back our kingdom." She smiled at Regina. "And we do it together. We can live in peace now."

Again, everyone's gaze swung to Regina. No one spoke. It seemed like no one even breathed as they waited to see what Regina was going to do. Keeping her head down, not wanting to see their faces, Regina could still feel their eyes on her. She waved her hands in front of her and a purple cloud enveloped her. Several people gasped, taking a step back, but when the smoke cleared the only thing Regina had done was get rid of her gown. She was dressed instead in a riding outfit similar to the ones she always wore as a girl, only black. Her nearly waist-length hair hung in loose waves. "There is no 'we'. Do what you want with the kingdom."

"Regina, don't," Snow said, reaching out to grasp Regina's arm. She yanked her arm away from Snow's touch, meeting her gaze with teary eyes, rage and sorrow pulsing inside her. Snow lowered her voice, stepping closer to Regina. "I know what you've lost, Regina. You don't have to be alone with your pain. We can get through it together."

"You have no idea what I've lost," Regina snarled. She turned her back on the crowd and raised her arms to disappear.

"Wait!"

It wasn't Snow's voice. Regina hesitated. Tinker Bell jumped in front of her. "If you won't stay with us, then I'm going with you."

"You most certainly are not!" Regina said, leaning back slightly, wary of Tinker Bell's insistence.

"I made the mistake of leaving you alone with your pain once. I wanted to help you and instead I let you push me away. It took me a long time to understand what happened that day, Regina, and longer still to accept my part in it. But I understand now. You had the potential to be a hero then, and you have that same potential now. Maybe if I had just stuck around…"

"Don't flatter yourself, insect. Nothing you did would have mattered."

Tears shone in Tinker Bell's eyes. "Maybe. There's no way to know now. But I think it would have then, and I think it will now. So I'm not leaving."

Regina looked over her shoulder at Snow, who was grinning. Regina wanted to reject Tinker Bell just to wipe that stupid look off Snow's face. She turned back to Tinker Bell. "Great. A sidekick. Henry would be thrilled that I'm finally on par with his comic book villains."

"Oh, Regina, villains aren't the ones with sidekicks!" Red called from somewhere behind them.

"Don't forget," Tinker Bell lowered her voice, "I knew you when there was still that innocent young girl in your heart. You can't wipe that away with a few nasty words."

Regina gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. She waved her arms and a purple cloud engulfed her.

From behind her Snow gave a quiet groan. But when the smoke cleared, the space in front of them was empty. No Regina. And no Tinker Bell.

***

"Henry?" Emma called as she closed the front door.

A door opened upstairs and Henry appeared, leaning over the stair railing. "Hey mom. How'd it go?"

"Pretty well, all things considered." Emma draped her jacket over the coat rack. She heard Henry's footsteps thunder down the stairs and when she turned he was right in front of her. "I found some board games. I thought we could play in the dining room. I mean, if you don't have to go out again."

"Sure, kid, sounds-" Emma caught sight of the stairs behind Henry.

"Everything alright, mom?" Henry backed up slightly, blocking her view.

Emma put her hand on his arm and gently pushed him to the side. She walked over to the staircase and looked up at the mostly beige carpet. Down the centre was a trail of dirty footprints. One track leading up, one track leading down. Henry's. Emma turned to face him. "Let me guess: you were just getting back when you heard my car pulling up, and you raced upstairs without thinking to take your shoes off."

Henry opened his mouth. "You know there's no point lying to me," Emma quickly cut in. Henry hung his head. "Henry! I told you not to leave the house and you go traipsing through the woods?"

"I just went for a walk, I don't see why it's such a big deal. I wasn't even gone that long."

"It's a big deal because I told you not to and you disobeyed me."

Henry looked up, brow furrowed. "I don't understand. You let me travel around New York City by myself, we go camping all the time, and you won't even let me go for a short walk here? Unless there's a serial killer on the loose that you don't want to tell me about, it doesn't make any sense." He paused, eyes widening. "There isn't a serial killer here, is there?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Clearly I let you watch too many movies."

"Then what is it? What's going on that you're so worried about?"

Emma hated lying to Henry, but for now she had no choice. She couldn't tell him the truth and he wouldn't listen to her without a good reason. "My job can be dangerous. In the city, I know what we're up against, I know how to keep you safe. But here…I just need you to stay inside for now, until I know more about what's going on."

"Fine," Henry said, but Emma could see it wasn't going to hold for long. Her first thought was that they needed to find that book. Then she remembered what it had been like before, with Henry always getting himself into trouble, and she wasn't sure that was such a good idea. She'd had conflicting thoughts about returning Henry's memories since the moment she recovered hers. She hoped Regina was having some luck back at Granny's.

They passed the rest of the afternoon playing board games and card games and mostly it was just Emma getting her butt kicked. She'd tried to suggest poker but Henry wasn't having it; he knew all about her 'superpower'. When they heard the front door open and the click of heels on the tile, Henry's face lit up. Emma knew it was just because he was starving and was hoping for a delicious meal and it made her chest constrict. She was grateful he composed himself a bit before Regina walked through and saw that face.

"So? How'd it go?" Emma asked. They couldn't openly talk about anything in front of Henry, but she needed to know.

"Civil, but not very productive." Regina tossed her trench coat at Emma. It landed on her head and she nearly fell off her chair. "You're supposed to use the hooks, not the whole coat rack, Miss Swan."

Emma tossed Regina's coat onto the floor, fuming. When she caught sight of Henry's face she knew she'd given more away than she'd intended. When Henry asked earlier how Emma knew Regina, she'd told him they had only just met because Regina wanted to hire Emma to help find someone. But that level of anger over one silly action wasn't normal between strangers. In fact, Regina's actions weren't that normal for a stranger, either. She silently begged him not to question it.

"Are you hungry, Henry? I have some leftover lasagna."

Henry's face fell a little at the word 'leftover', but he brushed it aside quickly and even offered to clear and set the table. A few minutes later they were all sitting together, Emma and Henry across from each other and Regina at the head of the table. Henry dug into his portion and his eyes widened when the taste hit him. "Mmmm," was all he said, and Regina smiled.

"Did Mary Margaret say anything about that book you were looking for?" Emma asked, framing her words carefully.

"She said she would look for it when she got home and call me if she finds it."

"Are you sure it's at her apartment? That doesn't seem like someplace you would leave it."

They had no idea where the book might have ended up because they didn't know where Henry had left it before they left town. He hadn't had it with him when they left town. "We asked everyone else at the meeting to keep an eye out for it. It'll turn up somewhere, I'm sure."

"What's so special about this book?" Henry asked.

"My father and I used it to send notes to one another when I was a girl. It had great sentimental value, that's all."

The lie came so quickly and easily, Emma wondered if it was true.

"Why couldn't you just talk to each other."

Regina chewed slowly, swallowed, took a sip of wine. "He worked long hours. By the time he returned home I was asleep, and by the time I awoke, he was gone to work. We rarely saw each other, but he didn't want me to grow up not knowing him. Before he went to bed he would write messages in whatever book I was reading, and I would write back to him."

"So how come you don't have lots of books with his notes in them?"

"I do. But this one was special."

"I hope you find it, then."

***

Henry's heart was pounding as he stepped out of the house. He wasn't even sure why. Emma had told him to stay inside, and he was obviously breaking that rule, but it wasn't like he was really doing anything wrong. What really worried him was the fact that he didn't know why he wasn't supposed to leave. Emma never told him to do something without giving him a reason, and it was always a reason he could understand. But this time she hadn't offered any explanation. He wanted to know why.

The town was pretty deserted, but Henry still avoided the main road. It gave him an eerie feeling to be surrounded by so much quiet. They were far from New York, and he didn't have much experience with small towns, but should there still be people somewhere? Some kind of noise? He brushed it off. It was the middle of a weekday – maybe everyone was just at work or school. Maybe this was the kind of place where everyone had 9-5 jobs.

With nothing interesting to see in town, and a nagging worry that word might get back to Emma if anyone saw him there anyway, Henry headed to the outskirts of town and into the woods. He was oddly comfortable there for someone who'd grown up in a huge city, but he loved camping. His mom had always made sure that when they went camping they were really roughing it, getting away from everything that reminded them of the city, and he was grateful for that. He knew how to walk quietly and carefully, how to spot animal tracks – though he wasn't much good at actual tracking – how to find North, and how to keep track of where he'd come from so he could always get back.

It was late morning and the woods weren't particularly thick, so Henry could keep up a good pace. He wanted to explore as much as he could before heading back to Regina's. He didn't want to be gone long, since he had no idea how long Emma would be. He gave himself an hour to explore what he could and get back. When he noticed his time reaching the halfway mark, he stopped. He was about to turn back when he spotted something up ahead.

Something was making noise in the brush. Probably a small animal, but maybe it was a deer. Henry had only ever seen a deer once, when he was really young, but he remembered the encounter vividly. He couldn't resist the possibility of seeing another one up close. He crouched down and moved as quietly as he could to see what was in the bush.

To his disappointment, he quickly realized that what he'd initially spotted was a lean-to – a crude shelter made of heavy sticks and covered in leaves and branches to keep out the rain. The noise probably wasn't a wild animal at all, but a camper. Henry glanced at his watch and saw that he would have to pick up his pace if he wanted to make it back within the time he'd allotted himself. Looking up again, he gasped before he could catch himself. He clamped a hand over his mouth and ducked down into the underbrush just as the lean-to occupant glanced his way.

Henry had seen some strange people living in New York and learned at an early age not to stare, to just ignore even the most outrageous individual. As he got older he'd learned that some people just liked extravagance, but they were ordinary people like anyone else. But the woman Henry saw sent shivers down his spine. She didn't look like someone who was just dressing up to show off her wild personality.

The strange woman surveyed the area for a minute, eyes narrowed. Henry's heart was pounding and he was struggling to get enough air without breathing too loudly. Finally the woman disappeared back under the lean-to and Henry quietly crawled through the underbrush until he thought he was far enough away, then got to his feet and bolted. He was out of breath by the time he got to Regina's back door and he paused a moment to catch his breath.

Once he could breathe again, he looked down at his jeans and started wiping away the dirt. Thankfully it hadn't rained in a while so it was nothing more than loose, dry earth that brushed off easily, and he stepped back into the house looking as clean as when he'd left. A minute later he heard the unmistakable sound of Emma's yellow bug, and he raced through the house and up the stairs, closing the bedroom door seconds before she walked in. He collapsed on the bed, steadying his breath before he'd have to go down and greet her. It was only then that he realized his shoes were still on, and they were no doubt filthy.

"Henry?"

"Ah, crap."


	6. Stay Put, Stay Inside, Stay Safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note about spelling and grammar errors: I try my best, but I'm posting these chapters as I go because I'm so anxious to share this story with everyone. I'm only ever one or two chapters ahead of what I've posted, and sometimes I post everything I've written the same day. So there are probably lots of errors, and for that I'm really saw. If you notice anything major feel free to message me (AO3 has messaging of some sort, right? Wow I don't get on here enough)

"Shouldn't you answer that?" Emma asked.

Regina's phone was ringing, but she didn't make any move to answer it. She just glared at it. "It's probably Snow."

Emma sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Oh, Emma? Where's Regina?"

Emma glanced at Regina out of the corner of her eye. "She's upstairs. Told me to answer it so we don't miss your call. Did you find it?"

"Sorry, Emma, I've looked everywhere. I figured it would be back in my closet where I found it the first time but I tore the whole thing apart and couldn't find it. It's not anywhere else in the apartment, either. Have you guys looked around Regina's house? Henry might have left it there."

"Yeah, we checked. It's not here."

"We've been getting calls all morning from people saying they checked all the locations we came up with, but no one's found it yet. We'll keep looking, of course, but I really think we've exhausted every place Henry could have conceivably left it."

"I don't get it, how could it just disappear?"

"Well we don't really know what made it appear in the first place. In fact there's a lot we don't know about that book. I think we're going to have to find another way to break this curse."

Emma sighed. "Yeah, alright. I'll talk to Regina, see what we can come up with. Keep looking, though. You never know."

"We will."

Emma hung up the phone and walked over to where Regina was standing, staring out at her apple tree. "I'm assuming they didn't find the book."

"Nope. And it doesn't look like we're ever going to find it at this point. We have to figure something else out. What about just giving him a memory potion?"

"I told you, I only had enough for one."

"But now that we're back in Storybrooke, isn't there something in your vault you could use?"

Regina shook her head. "There are some very rare ingredients in that potion, not the sorts of things you come across every day. I know for certain I'm missing an ingredient, possibly two or three, and they're not things that can be found in this world."

Emma's eyes widened. "What about Gold's shop? Wouldn't he have that stuff?"

"Hmm. Possibly. But I didn't notice the shop when we drove back into town. Would it even still be here with Rumplestiltskin gone?"

"Only one way to find out."

***

Stay put, stay inside, stay safe. If there wasn't a mass murderer out there then what the heck did Emma think he was going to get himself in to? He wanted to go for a walk in the middle of the day in a little seaside town. And possibly track down a monster. What could go wrong?  
At first it seemed Emma was intent on not leaving Henry alone for long. If she wasn't in the house, Regina was. Henry was beginning to like Regina, and he definitely liked her cooking, but she was a stranger and an adult and not someone Henry really wanted to be forcibly cooped up with. When Emma said she'd only been gone an hour at most, it didn't seem like a good idea to go any farther than the backyard to get some fresh air. But when she called him on his cell to say that she and Regina would be gone for a few hours, he told her of course he would stay put and stay inside and stay safe. Of course.

Not. Shouldn't Emma really know her own kid better by now? And Regina had a son, too, so she had no excuse either. Henry was a good kid, he knew that and he knew Emma knew that, but he was also used to his freedom and he wasn't giving it up without a good reason.

Plus, he had a monster in the woods to investigate, and how freaking cool was that?

A little smarter this time, Henry readied a change of clothes for himself upstairs so he could change in a hurry in case he got dirty. And he reminded himself over and over to take off his shoes before he went in the house. He'd spotted a hose out back and he planned to use it to rinse off any excess mud he picked up. And he was dressed in dark greens and browns to make him less noticeable. He even had a camouflage balaclava Emma had bought him last winter, which he mostly just used to goof around with his friends when they went camping.

Once he got into the woods it was a little tougher than he'd expected to remember the route he'd taken. He was pretty sure he remembered it, having paid close attention yesterday so he could find his way back, but the spot he was looking for was just a tiny lean-to that would be easy to miss. Its occupant, however, not so much.

That's when it dawned on Henry that he wasn't looking for the completely stationary shelter, have was looking for the living, breathing builder of that shelter. And living, breathing things had a tendency to move around. He whipped his head around, convinced for a moment that there's was something right behind him, but there was nothing there. He was just psyching himself out. Still, he crouched down into the underbrush and made his way on his hands and knees, and finally he flattened himself to crawl military-style on his stomach. He knew it wasn't much farther and he didn't want to risk stumbling upon the monster by accident.

It took quite a while to work through the underbrush, and by the time he found the spot he recognized as the one he'd used as a hiding spot earlier, his arms were exhausted and his knees and elbows felt cool and damp from the earth. He worked into an awkward crouch and peered through the vegetation. Sure enough, there was the lean-to. But he was positioned behind it, so he couldn't see much more than the slanted roof. There were faint curls of smoke rising from the front, he noticed. There must be a small fire going, and if there was a fire, there was bound to be someone sitting near it. Anyone who knew enough about the woods to build their own lean-to would know not to leave a fire unattended.

Back on his stomach, he dug his elbows into the ground and worked his way in a wide circle around the shelter. He stopped several times to catch his breath and rest his aching arms. He really needed to get in better shape. Eventually he had gone far enough that he should be able to see into the shelter. He found the best hiding spot he could and pulled himself once more into a crouch. He had to psych himself up a bit to look. He only had a vague recollection of the creature he'd seen, probably because he'd been so terrified the first time. He was afraid the sight would be just as terrifying this time. He took a few deep breaths, and finally poked his hand into the thick vegetation and peered through.

The lean-to was empty. A small fire was indeed burning a couple feet in front of it, but there was no one around to tend to it. So much for competent woodsmen. Henry let out a huff.

"Disappointed?"

Henry nearly jumped out of his skin. He stumbled from the bush, running so fast he couldn't even tell where he was going. He could hear footsteps behind him and he wasn't even going in the right direction and oh god why had he put the lean-to right in the way of his path home? How big were these woods? How the hell would Emma ever find him out here?

Stay put, stay inside, stay safe.

Crap.

***

"I don't understand. The curse had to bring everything over, there's nothing left of the Enchanted Forest. Gold's stuff has to be here." Emma had her hands on the steering wheel of her bug, but she was just staring out the window, keys still in her pocket,

"There may be a storehouse of some kind hidden under the town, like the vault under the library. We could search for months and probably never find it. It's possible the curse just destroyed anything that wasn't necessary to our lives here."

"So there's just no way of getting his memories back? There has to be something."

Regina shrugged. "The only way to restore his memories is to break the curse. That has to undo it."

"But the only way to break the curse is to restore his memories." Emma groaned, dropping her hands into her lap.

"We could just…tell him," Regina suggested.

Emma laughed. "What, tell him that fairytales are real and that I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming? That his whole life is just one big lie?"

"Well? What other choice do we have? He believe it once with nothing more than stories from a book. Why shouldn't he believe it coming from you?"

"For the same reason I didn't think the book would even work. He's older now. He doesn't need fairytales, he's not living in a cursed town anymore. As far as he knows, anyway. I just don't think he's gonna buy it."

"He might if the only alternative is believing you're crazy. We should at least try it."

Emma pulled her keys out of her pocket and stuck them in the ignition. "Will you come visit me when I get dragged off to the mental ward?"

Regina smiled. "I'm pretty sure I could break you out."

Emma laughed. "You mean you wouldn't just let me rot? Regina, I'm touched."

"Don't let it go to your head, Miss Swan."

"Ah, and we're back to 'Miss Swan'. Well, Madam Mayor, shall we get back to my son?"

"My son," Regina said, indulging Emma's game.

"Our son."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Fine. Now drive."


	7. Running To and Running From

Despite Emma's cheerful mood in the car, there was sullen silence between her and Regina as they made their way to the front door. They were going to try to convince Henry that fairytales exist. They had to; it was the only option left. But they both had their reasons for not wanting Henry to remember, and neither of them was ready to admit that. And none of their reasons had anything to do with Henry thinking they were nuts.

Regina wondered if Emma knew. Of course Emma had her reasons for not wanting Henry to remember. She'd been given the gift of a good life with Henry, good memories – Regina's memories, mostly – and as far as Henry was now concerned she was his only parent. Not only that, she was his only family member. There was no one to share him with, and after fighting with Regina for so long and always comparing herself to all of Henry's other guardians, the idea of remaining his one and only guardian had to be incredibly appealing. Still, Emma didn't complain, didn't stall, didn't make excuses. She knew she had to restore Henry's memories. She knew he would want that.

Regina knew all of this without Emma saying a word. But she wondered if Emma knew Regina's own hesitations? Maybe she had an inkling of them, but did she know just how conflicted Regina really was?

She followed Emma into the house – she had a hard time thinking of it as 'her' house anymore, she realized – and already felt exhausted at the mere thought of talking to Henry about all that had happened in Storybrooke, and in the Enchanted Forest before that. She wondered how they would explain the curse to him. She wondered if Emma had even thought about that. If she cared.

"Henry?" Emma called, throwing her jacket on top of the coat rack. Did she really not understand the concept? Regina sighed and carefully hung Emma's ridiculous red leather jacket on a hook – it was hard to believe she still had it, still wore it – and hung up her own jacket next to it.

"Henry, come down here," Emma called. There was no answer and no sound of movement from upstairs. "He must have his headphones in," Emma said, heading for the stiars.

Regina nodded, but an icy sensation was building in her stomach as she watched Emma climb the stairs. She didn't know why it was there, what had caused it, but then she watched Emma knock on Henry's door and slowly open it, and she understood. She watched Emma turn back towards the stairs, and knew she would see her own fear mirrored on Emma's face.

"He's not in there."

"Maybe's he's out back," Regina said. She didn't really believe it and neither did Emma, judging by the look on her face.

Regina headed for the back door at a jog, Emma racing behind her, and sure enough they arrived at the back door to see the yard empty. No sign of Henry. Regina let out a heavy breath, every last bit of air from her lungs pushed out, and for a moment she couldn't get any air back in them.

"He just went for another walk. I'm sure he's fine." Emma put her hands on Regina's shoulders, but they were trembling. Or maybe Regina was trembling. She couldn't tell.

"I thought you talked to him last time?" Regina said, whirling to face Emma, anger flaring.

"Don't you dare put this on me. Of course I talked to him, but he's used to me giving him a good reason for things I tell him to do. He's not used to having to blindly obey."

"Well then you should have given him a reason!"

"I did, but there's only so much I can say that doesn't sound ridiculous. He's a kid in a strange town and a strange house, cooped up all day long with no one around to talk to and not even a TV to watch. Of course he went out for a walk!"

Regina wanted to spit more venomous accusations at Emma, but she pulled herself together as much as she could. She told herself that Emma was just as worried as she was, that Emma had to be blaming herself right now for not seeing this coming. Regina didn't need to add to that. But it still took an extraordinary effort on her part not to just lay into Emma. "He has a cell phone, I assume?"

"Yeah," Emma said, fishing her own cell out of her pocket. She tapped on the screen a few times and then held it to her ear. Regina could hear it ringing. And she heard it click over to voicemail. Emma tried again. And again. She texted. Called again. It was no use. Regina finally had to grab Emma's wrist as she tried to dial again with shaking hands.

"Think. Where would he have gone?"

Emma took a deep breath to steady herself. "We go camping a lot. He likes the woods. That's where he went last time, he must have gone there again."

"It's easy to get lost out there, or lose track of time. Go get me something of his. I'll be right back." And she vanished in a puff of smoke.

A few minutes later she reappeared in the kitchen, Emma standing there clutching something Regina didn't recognize. When she got closer, Emma opened her palm to reveal a zipper. Or rather, a zipper pull, detached. "It's from his backpack. You're going to do a locator spell, right? I figured it should be something tiny so he doesn't see something zooming through the air."

Regina didn't mention that actually seeing magic at work would make convincing Henry of its existence a lot easier. She also didn't add 'if he's conscious'. And she didn't even want to think 'if we find him'. She simply set down the ingredients she had gathered in her vault and quickly started mixing up a potion.

"So it is a locator spell you're doing, right?"

"Yes. Just be quiet." It took about ten minutes for Regina to mix up the potion and she felt every one of them tick by. Mostly because Emma was hovering over her shoulder. "There," she announced at last. "Give me the zipper."

Emma handed it over. Regina sprinkled some of the potion onto it and suddenly it rose out of her hand and flew towards the back door, hitting the glass with a tiny tink. Emma flung it open, releasing the zipper to the outdoors, and the two of them chased after it. Emma quickly fell behind, probably because she couldn't see the tiny black dot in the air - Emma's forethought had apparently gone too far when she chose the miniscule object. Thankfully Regina could feel the pull of her own magic, and she let it guide her.

Sure enough, it lead them into the woods, but they'd only gone just past the tree line when Regina felt the pull suddenly vanished and her heart sank. She slowed, nearly losing her footing, and Emma raced past her completely unaware of what had happened. But then she heard a startled cry and darted around a large tree and there was Emma, arms wrapped tightly around – Regina assumed, given that his face was hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair – Henry. Regina nearly plowed into them and wrapped her arm around them both, letting out her own overwhelming relief.

And then it dawned on her. She stepped back, cleared her throat. Did her best to regain her composure. Because Henry was staring at her with a mix of confusion and suspicion while he continued to hug Emma. Regina should not be so overjoyed to reunite with a stranger.

"Are you alright?" Emma asked, putting her hands firmly on Henry's shoulders like he might float away if she didn't hold him down.

"I'm fine, mom. I'm sorry, I just-"

"You just scared the crap out of us, kid!"

"I'm sorry, really. I needed some air and I thought I could…" he trailed off, ears turning red.

"You thought you could get back before we noticed you were gone," Emma finished for him. Henry nodded, eyes downcast. "Dammit, Henry! I told you to stay in the house!"

"If I had known you were going to lock me up in an empty mansion I would have stayed in New York!" Henry shouted, shrugging off Emma's hands and taking a step back.

Emma opened her mouth, but for this she had no comeback. She closed her mouth, shook her head. Sighed. "Henry, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was going to be like this, either. Just…just come back to the house. We can talk there." She smiled and reached out to touch Henry's arm.

He flinched away from her touch, wincing slightly. Emma looked hurt, but Regina stepped forward and grabbed Henry's wrist, lifting up the sleeve of his t-shirt. There was a bruise forming on his upper arm. "What happened?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the bruise. She couldn't bring herself to meet Henry's gaze after the look he'd given her when she hugged him.

"Henry! Where else are you hurt?"

"Nowhere. It's nothing, I just tripped. Twisted funny and fell against a tree. Really, it barely hurts at all as long as I don't touch it."

Emma sighed. "Fine. Come on, let's go home."

Regina let them walked ahead and followed a few paces behind. Her chest ached horribly, but she forced herself not to cry. She could do that later. She looked up and saw a tiny dot in the air – the zipper pull, still trailing after Henry. She waved her hand and it fell to the ground, spell broken. She stepped on it deliberately – childishly – as she walked by.

***

Henry stopped, completely out of breath. He doubled over, hands on his knees, braced for what was coming. But as his breath returned and the pounding in his ears subsided, he realized there was no sound behind him. No more footsteps, not even the sound of something breathing. He straightened, squinted his eyes slightly, and turned.

Nothing. There was nothing behind him. Nothing right behind him and nothing as far as he could see. He whipped his head around, even looking up into the trees, worried something might be stalking him, but there was nothing. He thought back to all that running and wondered if it hadn't been the sound of his own thundering footfalls he'd heard. It seemed pretty likely now and it made him feel ridiculous. Well, if there really was nothing chasing him, trying to kill him, then there was still something out there worth investigating. He started back in the direction he'd come from, following the trail of broken sticks and crushed vegetation he'd left in his wake.

This was hands down the stupidest decision he'd ever made. He told himself that as he walked, thinking he should just be thankful he'd escaped unharmed. Yet here he was, traipsing back through the woods towards…whatever it was. And there was the problem right there. What was out there? Henry had to know. He needed to know. He was just wired that way, no matter how stupid it was, apparently.

Walking rather than sprinting, it took him a while to get back to where he'd seen the lean-to. He took a little extra time to work his way back towards the path that would lead him home, so if he did need to run again, he'd at least be going the right direction. By the time he was back on the right path and nearly back at the lean-to, he felt much calmer. He hadn't encountered anything on his way back, certainly nothing that wanted to kill him, and he felt pretty foolish for having run off in the first place.

He saw the spot he was looking for appear in the distance, and he squinted to see better. There was the lean-to. And standing in front of it – or behind, mostly blocked from Henry's view – was the thing Henry had been both looking for and running from. It was, disappointingly, much less monstrous than he remembered, but his heart still quickened as he approached, slower now.

It wasn't an 'it', either, he saw. He was pretty sure it was a she, actually. His foot came down on a branch and it cracked, and she turned to look straight at him. He swallowed hard.

"Well? You really need to decide if you're coming or going so I can have some peace." She beckoned for him to approach.

So he stepped closer, giving her a wide berth and he walked around the lean-to to get an unobstructed view.

The first thing he noticed were her eyes. They were completely black, not just the irises but the entire eye. It made it impossible to be sure what direction she was actually looking in, but her head swiveled to follow Henry's movements so he assumed she was looking right at him. Spreading out from her eyes was a network of lines like veins, reaching up and disappearing into her hairline, and stretching down to her cheekbones. Two long lines curved from her temples all the way to her jaw line. Her skin was as white as fresh Snow, and the sunlight reflecting off it made her hard to look at, even with it filtered through the trees. Henry wondered if you could look at her at all in the full, unfiltered sun. She was taller than Henry, probably taller than Emma or Regina even, but he couldn't say for sure because she was leaning heavily on a wooden staff. The long fingers curved around it ended in thick black claws rather than fingernails. Her hair was long and wild, pale turquoise at the crown of her head and fading to deep ocean blue towards the ends. She was the most beautiful and terrifying thing Henry had ever laid eyes on.

"Does that mask serve some purpose?" She asked. Her voice was deep and smooth as silk.

Henry reached up and pulled the balaclava off his face. He'd almost forgotten he was wearing it. He was too distracted to tidy his hair, which was smoothed in some places and stuck up in odd directions in others. They stood for a moment, staring at one another, neither one speaking.

"Y-You're hurt," Henry said. His eyes had wandered and he saw the woman's legs were mostly bare, and one of her knees was slightly swollen. She seemed to be putting all her weight on her good leg.

"It will heal," she said.

"But how do you take care of yourself out here? How are you supposed to find food and water?"

She smirked. "You sound remarkably concerned for one who has thus far run from me twice in fear." Henry blushed. "I make do. And what of you? How does something so small fend for itself?"

"I'm not that small," Henry said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I go camping all the time, I know how survive in the woods."

"Ahhh," she said, dipping her chin in a half nod. Henry bristled at her condescension.

"What are you, anyway?"

"I am fae. What are you?"

"You're what?" Henry said, tilting his head.

"I am fae," she repeated.

"You mean you're a fairy?"

She sighed. "We are not unrelated, but my kind of distant relatives of those most commonly referred to as fairies. But that is a long story."

Henry stared, mouth open. A million questions ran through his mind and none of them stuck long enough for him to actually form the words. Instead, he blurted, "But fairies don't exist!"

"Then it is fortunate that I am not a fairy." She quirked an eyebrow. "What then are you?"

"I'm human!" Henry said, unable to believe his own words. Not that he doubted his own species, but that he actually had to tell someone as if it weren't obvious. As if there could be any other option.

"Ah, that is why you are so small." She smiled.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Aren't fairies supposed to be even smaller?"

"I am fae," she repeated with a sigh.

"What happened to your leg?"

"I was injured."

Henry waited for further explanation, but she was silent. He took a step forward, feeling a little safer now. "You should see a doctor. That has to be pretty painful."

"I can still walk, when I must. Such concern from a human is..." She didn't finish the thought.

"Do you have a name?" Henry asked.

"I have none in your tongue."

"You mean in English? What's your name in your language?"

She hummed a short, quick melody. Henry's eyebrows rose. "Was that…your name?"

"Yes."

"It's…pretty," he said, knowing he couldn't possibly repeat it. He smiled.

She smiled back. "You may call me whatever you wish in your own tongue."

"Umm…how about Melody? 'Cause that's kind of what your name is – a melody."

She nodded. "And what should I call you?"

"My name's Henry. You can call me whatever you like in your language but I, uh, probably won't respond to it."

She laughed. Then she hummed a new string of notes, these ones with a much deeper, richer tone. They really were quite beautiful, Henry thought.

"Uh oh," he said, looking down at his watch. He hadn't realized how late it was getting, and he saw that it was well past the time he'd allotted himself. He should already be back at the house by now. "I have to go. Can I come back and see you again?"

She nodded. Then, so fast Henry barely even saw her move, the staff shot out and struck him hard in the arm. He yelped, hand rubbing the injured spot. "What was that for?!"

"For disturbing me while I was resting. Twice."

"Well I'm not sure I want to come back now," he muttered, lifting his t-shirt to examine the spot, which was red and already starting to bruise.

She chuckled. "Bring water next you pass by and I will teach you to defend from such a blow, tiny human."

His head shot up. He didn't even register being called 'tiny' yet again. "Really? You could teach me that?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Can you teach me how to use that thing?"

"Were you not in a hurry, Henry?"

"Crap!" He took off at a jog, wanting to sprint but knowing it would only end up taking longer if he had to stop to rest. He felt anxious the whole way back. But excited, too. He had met a freaking fairy, and she was going to teach him to fight.


	8. Elephants and Horses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super short chapter. Next one will be up shortly.

"Mom? I know you want to talk, but is it ok if I take a shower first?"

Emma nodded. "Of course. I think we could all use a bit of a rest."

Henry looked at Regina, who was still avoiding his gaze. She met his eyes for a moment, then looked away again. "Do you mind if I borrow a towel?"

"There are spares in the linen closet, next to the upstairs bathroom. Help yourself."

Henry headed upstairs, giving Regina one last puzzled look before he went.

"Care for a drink?" Regina asked, heading for the wine fridge without waiting for a response.

"Definitely."

Regina poured them both a glass of red wine. Emma was hoping for something a little stronger, but it was good wine. The warmth in her stomach spread out to ease the tension in her limbs. Regina picked up the bottle and headed for the sitting room. Emma followed, glass in hand.

"Have you considered that we may be overreacting?" Regina said when they were both seated and the fire was crackling.

"That there may be nothing more dangerous than a stray cat out there? Yeah, it crossed my mind. But we've only been here a couple days and we're no closer to figuring out why Storybrooke is back. I think we have to assume the worst until we know for sure."

"Then Henry is going to need a guardian, clearly."

"David can look after him. Maybe they can practice some sword fighting; I'm sure that would keep Henry entertained."

"There's the minor concern of David being a stranger to Henry."

And there it was. The elephant in the room, sticking its trunk in their faces. Henry had gone upstairs, delaying the inevitable, but they had to talk to him. Tonight. They had to try to convince him that fairytales existed. "We'll just have to explain it to him." Emma's voice was barely more than a whisper.

The two of them locked eyes. For a moment they just stared at each other. Then Regina said, "You don't want him to remember."

"You didn't exactly jump at the chance to start filling him in," Emma said. Regina looked down at her glass, swirling the contents. "Do you want him to remember?"

"I don't know."

Emma leaded forward, forearms resting on her knees. "Regina. Henry stopped believing you were evil a long time ago. You know that, right?"

"I don't need assurances from the saviour," Regina snapped.

"Don't do that," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Don't bite my head off because you don't want to admit your feelings. I know you too well for that to work."

Regina looked up from her wine. "It sounds like neither of us really want his memories back."

"But we have to. He can't go on thinking this is just some sleepy seaside town forever. For one thing he's going to expect us to go back to New York soon."

"You're not?"

Emma blinked, surprised by the question. "Well of course not. I'm the saviour, I can't just leave while there could be danger here."

"Oh." Regina looked down at her wine again.

"You know Henry's not just going to leave here once he has his memories back. And…my family is here." Regina swallowed. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, and a smile flashed briefly across your face. Emma tilted her head. "I'm sort of surprised you didn't just jump down my throat, threaten me if I try to take Henry away."

Regina shrugged. "No one in this town would let me take Henry from you. They certainly didn't care when you illegally took guardianship over him."

"Because you weren't exactly parent of the year," Emma said, growing defensive.

"No, I was parent of the previous ten years."

"You weren't good for him and you know it."

"That doesn't change the fact that you swooped in and took control. Even after Henry and I started mending out relationship everyone just took it for granted that he should be living with you in that hovel Snow calls an apartment."

"Mom?"

They both looked over at the doorway to see Henry standing there in fresh clothes, hair damp and untidy from toweling off after his shower. He was looking back and forth between the two of them, eyes wide.

***

"Well…we're here," Tinker Bell said, stepping down onto the dock and taking in their surroundings.

"I noticed," Regina said, strolling right past Tink.

"Where to now?" Tink asked, hurrying to catch up, her short legs struggling to keep up with Regina's long, confident strides.

"You're free to go wherever you like."

"Oh would you quit that. I came all the way here, I'm not about to abandon you now."

"I assure you, I would not consider it abandonment."

Tink rolled her eyes. "Fine, keep it up. But if you really didn't want me around you could just," she flicked her fingers, "poof."

Regina rolled her eyes, but she continued on in silence, and it didn't escape Tink's notice that she slowed her pace to let the fairy fall into to step beside her.

"What did you say this place was called again?" Tink asked as they left the harbour and headed into town. It was unfamiliar, but not as foreign as Tink had expected. It looked like any other seaside town in the Enchanted Forest as far as she could tell.

"Arendelle."

"Right. And I don't suppose you've figured out where we're going yet."

"I'm going to buy a horse."

"Two, I hope." Regina shrugged but didn't actually reply. "And with these horses, we're going to go where exactly?"

"To shelter."

"I thought we went over this on the boat – you can just say 'I don't know'."

"But I do know. We need horses and we need shelter. So that's where we're going."

"Ha! You said horses! You are buying me my own." Tink laughed, punching Regina playfully in the arm and skipping ahead a few paces.

"You're exhausting."

"Good thing we're going to find somewhere to rest, then!" Tink singsonged. When she looked over her shoulder Regina was rubbing the bridge of her nose, but Tink still saw the smile Regina was trying to hide.


	9. And POOF! Proof

"Mom?"

"Henry. We were just…" Emma looked at Regina, who looked just as startled as she felt. She motioned for Henry to come into the sitting room. "Come here, sit down. We want to talk to you."

"What is she talking about? Was she really talking about me? How do you really know my mom?" This last question he directed at Regina.

"Just come sit down. We'll explain everything, I promise."

Henry walked across the room and took a seat on the arm of the couch, as far from both Emma and Regina as he could get, and crossed his arms. "Tell me what's going on."

"You're right. Regina isn't a stranger. She's...she's…"

"I'm your mother, Henry." The look on Regina's face made Emma's stomach tighten, but the anger that appeared on Henry's face broke her heart. She imagined that anger turned on her and it sent a chill down her spine.

"You're crazy." Henry shook his head. "Emma is my mother."

"She's telling the truth, kid."

"So I'm…adopted?"

Regina burst out laughing, shaking her head. She looked up at Emma, still smiling. When she saw that Emma wasn't nearly so amused, she sobered. "Sorry. I just-" she glanced at Henry. "I made sure he always knew, right from the start, so we would never have to have this conversation, and here we are anyway. Don't you ever just stop and ask yourself how your life became so ridiculous?"

"I try hard not to." Emma quirked an eyebrow, looking at Regina's nearly empty glass, her second of the night. Regina looked at it, too, then set it down on the table.

"Somebody tell me what's going on!" Henry yelled, bringing them back to the issues at hand.

Regina turned back to Henry, eyes pleading. "Yes, Henry, you were adopted. But by me, when you were a baby."

"I know you have all these memories of growing up with me in New York, but they're not real. We didn't even meet until you were ten."

Henry was looking more alarmed with every word they spoke. "Mom, this is crazy. You don't just forget your own mom, you don't just make up all your memories. I grew up in New York. You raised me."

Emma shook her head. "I'm sorry, Henry. I know this is hard for you to understand, but Regina really is your mom. You lived here your whole life, until we moved to New York a year ago."

"You don't just forget something like that!" Henry yelled, eyes wide, shaking his head rapidly.

"Henry…" Emma got up and walked over to where he was sitting. He leaned away from her as she approached, but he didn't move away as she sat down on the couch, putting her hand on his knee. "Just listen. It'll make sense eventually, I promise.

"When you were ten, you left Storybrooke, and you went to Boston." And Emma told Henry all about the curse, and wanting to find the saviour, and getting everyone to believe in fairytales. She told him about Snow White and Prince Charming and how they'd put her in a wardrobe to protect her from the curse. She told him all about that first year in Storybrooke, and he listened, mouth open, eyes wide.

"So…" he said, once Emma had finished and they all lapsed into silence. "My grandparents are Snow White and Prince Charming. And everyone in this town is a fairytale character."

"Well not everyone, but yeah, that about sums it up."

"And Regina…really is my mom."

"Yeah, kid," Emma said, giving his knee a squeeze.

"But how? How do you forget something like that? Why…why do I remember living in New York? Was any of that real?"

"We really did live in New York for the past year. We had to leave Storybrooke to escape a new curse, by breaking the old one, but that's another long story. I think we should talk about it more tomorrow, after we've all had some rest."

Henry looked over at Regina. Her head was bowed, hair hiding her face from both of them. "That apple tree, in central park. It's just like the one in your backyard. That must be why I like it so much."

Regina tilted her head to look at him. Her eyes were shining, but no tears fell. "You used to love climbing that tree."

"I'm-…I'm sorry."

"For what?" Regina said, voice hoarse. When she blinked a single tear finally escaped and rolled down her cheek, glinting in the firelight.

"I…forgot about you."

Regina smiled, another tear rolling down her cheek. "It's ok Henry. I didn't forget about you."

***

The whole rest of the night was unbelievably awkward. Emma had decided that they should all just have some dinner and go to bed. There would be more time for explanations later. She gave no explanation for the strange look on her face after she kissed Henry goodnight, sort of hopeful and expectant, and then disappointed. In was gone in the blink of an eye, and then Emma was saying goodbye, telling him that she was going to spend the night with her parents and he would remain with Regina.

So he could sleep in his own room.

Somehow the room had become even more eerie now that he knew the truth. Or what was supposedly the truth, anyway. Henry was still having a hard time wrapping his head around it. They hadn't explained why he had all these memories of a life that he hadn't actually lived, simply brushed it aside with a promise to explain later. They mentioned something about another curse, and undoing the first curse, and there were an awful lot of curses happening in this town.

And then of course there was Regina, who didn't look much like any fairytale character Henry had ever heard of. Certainly not in her blazer and pinstriped pants. But the more pressing concern was that she was his mother, and while it explained a lot of her behaviour around him, it was impossible to see her as anything other than a stranger. To her credit – and to Henry's great relief – she made no attempt to pretend any different. If she had, Henry might have gone into his – his – room and stayed there until Emma returned.

As it was, he was curious about her. Now that he knew the truth, maybe she would be more open to his questions.

He slid onto a stool in the kitchen, where Regina was slowly working her way through a container of strawberries, turning her fingers red. She looked up at him as he walked in, but simply kept munching on the strawberries, waiting for him to speak. "Was it strange, seeing people from your world in movies and cartoons and stuff?"

"Yes."

"Are you immortal?"

Regina smiled. "No."

"But Emma said Snow White is her mom, but they were frozen in the curse, so they're the same age. But if Snow White is only as old as Emma, how come her story here has been around for so long?"

"I have no idea," Regina said, with a slow shake of her head.

"Are the stories here what actually happened in your world?"

"Not really, but they're certainly similar enough to make us wonder where they came from."

He wished she would stop looking at him like that. Everything about her was so polished and put together, and her tone was even and casual, but her eyes still looked sort of sad and desperate and it made him uncomfortable. Still, she was trying hard not to scare him away. He knew that. "Is everyone here a fairytale character?"

"No, some were simply peasants in the Enchanted Forest, swept up in the curse."

"But you're a fairytale character, right?"

She hesitated a moment, then said, "I'm depicted in your world's stories, yes."

"So who are you?"

"The Evil Queen."

And there it was. The look in her eyes was gone, replaced with a distant, glassy look that sent a chill down his spine. She'd answered so quickly that it took him a moment to register what she'd said. He was prepared for something ridiculous or even too obscure for him to have heard of her, but this he was not at all prepared for. He hadn't actually considered that there might be villains in Storybrooke. And if he had, he certainly wouldn't imagine one of them adopting a baby. Or wearing suits.

"But didn't Emma say that it was the Evil Queen who cast the curse?"

"Yes, I'm sure she mentioned that."

"But you- Why would-" he didn't know where to start.

"There was a part of me that didn't want you to have your memories back, even if it meant having you look at me like a stranger for the rest of your life. Because I knew I would have to do this, tell you who I was, what I did." She swiped at a tear that was threatening to fall. "And I wasn't sure you would forgive me again."

"Emma knows who you are, right?"

Regina nodded. "I think she realized I would want to tell you myself."

"Well," he took a deep breath, "Emma trusts you. If she didn't, she wouldn't have left me with you. So I guess that's good enough for now."

Regina nodded. She looked down, running her fingers over a scratch in the countertop. "It's late. We should turn in."

"Wait. Can I ask you one more thing?"

She didn't answer, but she stood there looking at him. After a minute he asked, "Can you use magic? I mean, here in this world?"

"There's no magic in your world." Henry nodded. He'd expected an answer like that, but he was still disappointed. "In this town, on the other hand…"

There was a puff of purple smoke and Henry nearly fell off his chair in surprise. When it cleared, Regina was gone. He turned and saw her standing right behind him, and this time he actually did fall off his chair, though he caught himself and at least stayed on his feet. He looked up at Regina, eyes wide. "That. Was. So. Cool."

And suddenly fairytales weren't so hard to believe in.


	10. What a Strange Thing, Affection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't know: when I post a chapter, I've likely only read it through once, and I have no idea what's going to happen in the rest of the story or even in the next chapter. I love writing fanfiction this way because it lets me see my raw creativity, but it also means it's full of mistakes and little writing issues that I would normally edit out in my own original fiction. For this I apologize. I only hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

"It's the middle of the night."

Henry jumped when his flashlight beam fell on a tall figure and the light reflected back dazzled him. "Melody?" he said, shielding his eyes from the reflection off her bright skin.

"Henry, you really must stop disturbing my rest."

Henry was about to stammer an apology when his vision cleared and he saw that Melody was smiling. He held out his hand to give her his offering – a large travel mug full of water. She took the mug, looked inside, and chuckled. "Well it looks like I can rest long into the morning, now that there is no need to fetch water. Perhaps I can forgive your intrusion. Come, sit."

Henry followed Melody into the shelter of the lean-to. There was a thick, heavy blanket laid out on the ground, but otherwise she had nothing but her staff. Henry wondered, not for the first time, how she was taking care of herself alone in the woods with a bad leg. That wasn't what he really wanted to ask about, though.

"Are you a fairytale character?" he asked.

"We've discussed this at great length, I should think. I am-"

"Fae. I know. But…" it occurred to him then that in order for Melody to understand him, she would have to know what human fairytales in this world were. That probably wasn't the case. He tried a different approach. "Where are you from?"

"My home has no name in your tongue, nor my own. We simply call it 'home', and it is understood." Melody tilted her head, looking down at Henry. "But I sense that is not a satisfying answer."

"Were you brought here by a curse? How long have you been here?"

Melody didn't respond for a long time. Henry couldn't be sure but he thought she was looking past him, seeing something in her mind's eye. He was silent, not wanting to disturb her thoughts. At last, she said, "A curse would certainly explain my arrival here, I suppose. It would have to be powerful magic to transport me suddenly to a strange land. I have only been here a short time and have not been able to travel far."

They were quiet for a while, Henry plucking at blades of grass. Melody took a few long gulps of water and let out a deep sigh, eyes fluttering shut, like she had never tasted anything so delicious. Henry wondered how long it had been since she'd had any food or water. "Are you sure you don't want to go see a doctor about your leg?"

She rested a hand on Henry's forearm. A shiver ran down his spine when he looked at the thick black claws, but he didn't move. "You are a rare human to show such concern for a fae." She smiled. "I assure you, I am quite resilient. Now, what was it that disturbed you from your sleep tonight?"

"Well..." Henry had no idea where to even start. Was Melody from the Enchanted Forest, or some other world? Were there other non-humans living in Storybrooke? Was Regina really the one who raised him? Why had Emma brought them back here? He knew Melody couldn't answer most of those questions, but he was so overwhelmed by what he was being asked to believe. And he couldn't stop thinking about his life with Emma. If he accepted magic and fairytales – hard not to when he was sitting next to a fae – then he had to accept it all. That would mean none of his memories of Emma were real. Their relationship was something Henry had always treasured, a friendship that most people just didn't get with their parents. And now it wasn't real.

Henry sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He didn't want to cry, not out here in front of a stranger. And not even a human one. But Melody stroked his hair and her gentle touch was soothing and Henry felt himself feeling drained and sleepy. "Come now, little one. It's time for your mind to rest."

'I'm not little,' Henry thought, but the words never left his lips.

***

"Regina! Regina, wake up. Look at this!"

Regina gasped as the bed suddenly dipped under Tink's weight. She rubbed her eyes and squinted up at the fairy. Tink was grinning from ear to ear and holding a piece of paper that Regina's vision was still too blurred to read. "How in all the realms do you have so much energy this early in the morning?"

"I always have this much energy, silly." Tink pressed a finger against Regina's nose and Regina scrunched her face, pulling away from the irritating gesture.

"I hate when you do that," she said, rubbing her nose.

"I know, but have you ever seen your face all scrunched up like that? It's adorable."

"Next time you do that I'm launching a fireball at you, I swear."

"It will absolutely be worth it. Seriously, look at yourself in the mirror when you make that face. You can't really expect me to resist that face."

"What's got you so excited that you just had to wake me?" she asked, changing the subject with a lazy roll of her eyes.

Tink flopped down onto the bed next to Regina and held the paper up so they could both see it. It was an invitation. "There's a royal ball tonight! It's to celebrate the Princess's engagement."

"I don't know the princess; why should I care that she's getting engaged?"

Tink smacked Regina in the face with the invitation. "It's not about the engagement, it's about the ball. I've never been to a royal ball. I want to go."

"I've been to plenty. They're not that exciting."

"Maybe they're not excited to someone who's been to so many, but I haven't." Tink sat up. She looked down at Regina with a genuine frown, something Regina hadn't seen on her face since their time in Neverland. "Regina, you spend all your time out here with nothing but flowers to keep you company. You haven't even been to town in over a month. Maybe you want to disappear into the forest and live the peasant life forever, but I don't. I need excitement."

"So go to the ball, I'm not stopping you."

"I can't just show up alone and uninvited!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I wasn't invited either."

"But you're royalty."

Tink's hand reached out just as the words left her mouth, like she wanted to snatch them back. She froze, then let her hand fall. Her words hung in the air between them. Regina rolled over, her back to Tink. She knew which buttons not to press, and she'd done it anyway, just to go to some damn party.

The bed groaned and shifted, and then Tink's arm slid over Regina and one finger stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"I am not royalty here," Regina said. It came out hollow and robotic. She'd said it so many times since their arrival.

"I know." Tink kissed the back of Regina's bare shoulder. "But Regina, you're wasting away out here. There's no need – no one here knows who you are. I've been asking around and-"

"You what?" Regina twisted to look back at Tink.

Tink blushed. Swallowed. "I've been asking around when I go into town. I tell people I want to visit the Enchanted Forest – they call is Mist Haven here – and ask if they know anything about it. I haven't found a single person who recognized your name, and I've only come across two people who'd ever been there. They were traders, and never went farther than the Northern border towns. Regina, you're a complete stranger to these people. You don't have to hide here."

Regina tried to summon up anger, to rage at Tink for talking about her with a bunch of Arendelleans, but she couldn't quite manage it. Her eyes stung with tears and she quickly twisted back so Tink wouldn't see them. She would know they were there, though. Regina knew that.

"Look, all we have to do is dress up and tell them you're Queen Regina from Mist Haven. No one will question you."

Regina rolled so she was facing Tink. "A queen from the Enchanted Forest will draw people's attention…"

Tink raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you have a plan."

Regina put her hands over her face. "Fiiiiine. I'll get us in."

Tink grinned. "Excellent. Now we just need to get ourselves some ball gowns."

She was about to spring up when Regina draped an arm over her, keeping her in place. "I have magic, remember? I can whip us both up anything you want in one puff of smoke."

"So we have lots of time before we have to get ready?"

"Mm-hmm." Regina leaned forward and started trailing kisses down Tink's neck, pulling her tunic aside to continue along her collarbone.

Tink shivered. "Well I guess one afternoon cooped up inside wouldn't be so bad."

***

It's remarkable how children are all the same, even human children. All they need is a little comfort, a gentle soothing of their worried minds, and they drop right to sleep. Henry was no different, even though he was nearly leaving childhood. And just like any other child, he didn't stir at all as Melody scooped him up in one arm, staff in the other, and began the slow trek back to his home, wherever that was.

Her knee ached, not unbearably, but it did slow her considerably. Still, an adult fae was considerably faster than a human, and Melody followed Henry's trail back to his house in half the time it would have taken him alone. He didn't so much as twitch the whole way. Melody paused when she saw his trail stopped at a wooden fence with one of the slats set aside. She peered through the gap into a large yard, and past it was a truly enormous home. Melody had never seen a dwelling so large, yet hardly large enough to be a castle. Either the peasantry here were well off or the royalty were poor. There were no lights on in the house, but Melody knew which was the boy's window.

Unable to fit through the tiny gap, Melody crouched and then sprang, clearing the fence and landing softly on the other side. She let out a hiss of pain as pain flared in her knee, spreading through the entire limb. She'd forgotten to compensate for the injury and land on her non-dominant leg. Henry made a noise in his sleep, but didn't wake.

There was a noise from the house, almost like a gust of wind, and Melody froze.

"Who's out there? Show yourself!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to all those who don't ship Fairy Queen, but I adore the idea of these two together. I promised SQ endgame and SQ endgame you shall have, don't worry. And no, there will be no love triangle because UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH.


End file.
